Moving Back to College After Summer Vacation

So you’ve spent your long summer days at your parents’ pad and while we all wish those days could have lasted a little longer… that wishful thinking makes it even harder to believe that the end of summer is already upon us. Yes, it’s already time to start thinking about the move back to campus and another year at school. Which means it’s time to start thinking about finding your own pad! While PadMapper is making apartment-hunting suck less, today, we’re here with some tips for making the move back to college suck less too!

You first left the nest when you were an 18-year-old college freshman and chances are you have left certain items in your room at your parents house each time you go back to school. This summer is no different; you expect to leave your room bare of a bed and dresser, but filled with the old memorable junk that you just can’t seem to part with. Besides your parents’ sadness over not being able to turn your room into a home gym, they may also be even more heartbroken that it’s time for your move back to school. They have loved having their big college student home for the summer and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye yet again. In all reality and for everyone involved, moving is a pain. Moving can be hectic and chaotic, but here are some tips and tricks you can follow to make the situation easier for everyone involved.

Moving Tips

Organize: The first thing on your back to college to-do list should be to sort everything out. We know it feels like you just brought all of your things back from the dorms for the summer and now it’s already time to move it back down again. To stay organized, we recommend you go though all of your things. Make a pile for keeping, a pile for donating and a pile for the trash. Think less is more with this, the less you bring to your new apartment, the less you have to take with you on your next big move.

Create a list of must haves: Who doesn’t love a good checklist? For this list think to yourself, what do I absolutely need in my new place and what can I live without? This is another great way to stay organized when moving back to school. Like we said above, less is more and when you get to campus feeling organized you will also feel ready to kick this year’s behind!

Save $$$: We are moving back to college people! In other words, we don’t have any extra money lying around for hidden moving costs like having to purchase new furniture or hiring a moving crew. While you can hire your siblings as “moving crew” and mom and dad’s mini van will do the trick, when it comes to purchasing new items for your space, just DON’T! It’s all about repurposing your old items. Take some paint to your thrashed wooden desk you’ve had since age 3 and create a trendy antique looking workspace for your new place. You can use this trick for all sorts of DIY projects and save tons of money.

Stand Guard: On move in day, especially if your new apartment is in a big city, make sure to have someone attending the truck or trailer at all times. The last thing you need to welcome you back to school is someone stealing your belongings. This tip may seem pretty obvious, but trust us, during the chaos that is moving, anything can happen.

That’s What Friends Are For: Is your apartment of the 3rd floor or the 10th? Remember that not all complexes have elevators and it can be hard to put all of the heavy lifting on your mom and dad. This is one of those instances where it pays to have friends! But seriously, all joking aside, having lots of hands to help carry things up the stairs is essential.

Overnight Bag: The first night in your new place is sure to be tiresome one and it can be hard to remember what box has your toothbrush or where your pajamas are. After a long day of moving, the last thing anyone wants to do is have to search around and open tons of boxes just to be able to brush their teeth! Pack an overnight bag with all of your essentials, that way, you have everything for the first night and you didn’t need a scavenger hunt to find it.

Color-Code: We’ve already established that moving is stressful to say the least. Make it easier on yourself and your “moving crew” by color-coding your boxes. The easiest way to do this is with colored tape for example, pink for the kitchen, green for your room and blue for the bathroom. This way you and your movers will know where to put the boxes when bringing them into your new space. Talk about organization!

Conclusion: Our last tip we want to leave you with is to remember to enjoy it. This move back to college marks another year and another adventure. Take it all in and enjoy every little thing, even move in day because these days will be over before you know it.

Happy Moving!

About the Author: Katie Nisbet is a digital marketing intern for Shutterfly.com. She is about to start her senior year at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and loves spending her free time hiking or on the beach. When she isn’t spending her time outdoors or being a firm practitioner of retail therapy, she can be found scouting out the latest fashion trends and eating chocolate, of course!